the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
JLL Hotels Expands Operations to Brazil
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels has opened its doors in São Paulo, Brazil, completing the firms BRIC strategy of having dedicated hospitality experts in Brazil, Russia, India and China.Executive vice president Ricardo Mader Rodrigues and senior vice president Manuela Gorni, along with seven hotel specialists, have joined the new team, bringing the firm’s strategic advisory and asset management team to 80 hotel professionals globally. Previously, they were partners of Hotel Investment Advisors, an advisory and asset management consulting group in São Paulo, and were the first in Brazil to offer specialized consulting services for the hotel industry, including asset management, operations…
ProLogis Leases 205,000 SF in China
ProLogis has leased approximately 205,000 square feet in Dalian, China to Nittsu Sinotrans Logistics Dalian Ltd., a joint venture between Sinotrans Liaoning Co. and Nippon Express.ProLogis Park Dalian Free Port is a 1.4 million-square-foot master-planned distribution park located in Dalian Free Port area, adjacent to the Dalian container yard and to land that will be used to accommodate a planned, two-phase expansion of the port taking place through 2010. Nittsu Sinotrans will occupy distribution space at the park, providing third-party logistics and transportation services to Canon Inc. “We are pleased Nittsu Sinotrans has selected ProLogis Park Dalian Free Port as…
Skyline Buys Horseshoe Valley Resort for $37M
Skyline International Development Inc. has completed the acquisition of Horseshoe Valley Resort, one of Ontario’s largest year-round recreation properties. The purchase price was $37 million. Skyline plans to retain all existing employees and current management at the properties. When reached this morning, Gil Blutrich, Skyline founder & president explained that, “The benefits of having two resorts in close proximity offers Canadians and foreign residents a four-season master planned waterfront community along with Horseshoe Valley ski hills, trails and pair of world-class golf courses.” Horseshoe Valley Resort includes 688 acres of land, 23 ski runs, 35 kilometers of cross country trails,…
Centro Sells Off U.S. Assets for $714M
Centro Properties, in an effort to deal with the heavy burden of debt that tanked the company’s stock price last year and put the company under new management, is selling 29 of the 31 retail properties held by its Centro America Fund (CAF) in the United States for about $714 million. All together, the properties total about 5.1 million square feet in 15 states. Centro has not identified the buyer, which is reported to be a U.S.-based pension fund. The deal excludes CAF’s partial share of Independence Mall in Wilmington, N.C., and Elk Park Center in Elk River, Minn., which…
W. P. Carey Closes $58M in German Acquisitions
W. P. Carey & Co. has acquired a pair of German properties in Soest and Bad Wünnenberg from Arques Industries for approximately $58 million. Two of Carey’s publicly held non-traded REIT affiliates,CPA:16 – Global and CPA:17 – Global, purchased the properties, which have been leased back to portfolio company Actebis under a triple net long-term lease. The Soest facility serves as Actebis’ global headquarters and the Bad Wünnenberg property serves as a logistics facility for the company. “We’ve done about a half-billion Euros in Germany in the last few years. We’re familiar with the market,” Jeffrey Lefleur, executive director of…
Inland, Bank of America in $152M Sale-Leaseback
Bank of America, NA and a joint venture involving Inland Real Estate Corp. have agreed on a sale-leaseback of four of the former’s office buildings. The buildings, in Moosic, Pa.; Las Vegas; Hunt Valley, Md.; and Rio Rancho, N.M., total 839,800 square feet. An Inland spokesperson declined to provide further information about the buildings. The aggregate purchase price is $152.6 million, of which Inland contributed about $60.8 million; an additional $90.3 million is being financed through a five-year, interest-only 5.6 percent fixed-rate bank loan. The buyer on the transaction is an existing JV of Inland Real Estate Corp. and Inland…
Bernanke: Housing Crisis at Heart of Economic Woes
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee today the housing crisis coupled with rising oil prices are “at the heart of the current (economic) uncertainty.” Bernanke (pictured) predicted that the uncertainty would continue until problems in the housing market are stabilized. “The (housing market is) affecting consumer wealth and consumer expectations,” Bernanke said this morning during his semiannual testimony before the Senate committee. “My suggestion in the near term would be to focus on issues related to housing. That’s the most critical and central issue that we face.” While Bernanke was giving his testimony, President George W….
Talisker Prevails in Battle for Park City Resort with $123M Purchase
After a year of competing bids and lawsuits, The Canyons resort in Park City, Utah, has finally gotten a new owner. Talisker Corp. forked over $123 million to American Skiing Co. for the 3,700-acre property, beating out competitor Vail Resorts after having entered into a contract in July 2007 to make the acquisition for $100 million in cash. It has been a long, convoluted 12 months for the parties involved in The Canyons sale. Last year, less than two weeks after Talisker announced its agreement with ASC to buy ASC Utah Inc.–the subsidiary that owned The Canyons–Vail Resorts cried fowl,…
$1B in Loans on 6 Retail Properties for Macerich
The unfavorable lending market is not holding everyone back. The Macerich Co. recently closed $895 million in financing on five retail properties and secured a commitment for a $150 million loan on a sixth asset. The properties, save for one, are all located in California. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Macerich has been hard at work over the last couple of months. Just last week, the REIT closed a $170 million loan on Fresno Fair, a super regional mall in Fresno, Calif.; completed a $300 million construction/permanent loan on super regional mall The Oaks in Thousand Oaks, Calif.; and entered into an…
Interim CEO Hunt Sizes Up Grubb & Ellis at Midyear
Facing the toughest commercial real estate market in recent memory, Grubb & Ellis Co. continues to carry out a plan designed to invigorate the global giant. Although it may take some time before the fruits of those labors emerge completely, Grubb & Ellis’s newly appointed acting CEO says he sees multiple reasons for encouragement. In an interview with CPN Tuesday afternoon, Gary Hunt (pictured) took stock of the seven months since the merger of Grubb & Ellis and NNN Realty Advisors Inc., and concluded that Grubb & Ellis has made lengthy strides. “From the perspective of the company, the strategic…